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Saturday, May 15, 2010

I HAVE TO PIMP OFF A GOOD FRIEND WHOSE FIRST BOOK I HAVE BEEN ANTICIPATING FOR YEARS.THERE HAS BEEN A LOT OF SWEAT PUT INTO THIS, BUT THE NOVEL IS WORTH THE WAIT . . .

When poor Boston girl Stephanie is abandoned by her abusive mother and taken in by Annie’s Beverly Hills family, she feels anything but home. Her dark complexion and accent stick out like a sore thumb in the golden-hued world of blondes and extravagance. These are girls who seem to live life in fast-forward, while Stephanie is stuck on pause.

Yet when a new rival moves to town, threatening Annie’s queen-bee status, Stephanie finds herself taking sides in a battle she never even knew existed, and that feeling invisible is a wound that can only be healed by standing up for who she is.

Brilliant newcomer Mary Hanlon Stone delivers a compulsively readable insider’s view of growing up in a world where money and privilege don’t always glitter.

ABOUT THE AUTHOR

Mary Hanlon Stone has been a deputy district attorney for Los Angeles County for twenty-three years. The majority of her career was spent specializing in the prosecution of sexual assault and domestic violence cases, with extensive work with children and teenage victims and witnesses. Ms. Stone tried the first "Roofie" rape case in the nation, and is a national consultant for drug-related sexual assaults.

Her cases have been featured on "E! True Hollywood Story", "City Confidential", "Inside Edition", "The O'Reilly Factor", "The Leeza Show", and German and Australian television. She recently tried the Mandeville Canyon Road Rage case. She attended the University of Michigan and the University of Michigan Law School.

Thanks to Tiki Shark, it’s the Cocktail Nation with Koop Kooper.On the show this week, we head to New York City and see what’s happening in the lounge scene there with Fredo Ceraso from the Loungerati website.Also, Tiki Carver extraordinaire Marcus Thorn has some news for us, we’ll take a look at the life of the recently departed Lena Horne, plus all the gigs you need to attend in our look at the world of swank.The regular segment Ask Koop is also back on the radio

THREE CHEERS FOR ED GORMAN FOR RANTING ON THE PROPOSED TRAVIS MCGEE FILM (WITH . . .

People of younger generations won't have any trouble imagining Matt Damon as McGee. But for older people McGee was a man who had been shaped by the second world war, the bust and boom of the late forties and early fifties and the old fashioned code of macho--very different from the one today.

And what about Meyer? At least he'll still be relevant given his gloomy (and accurate) financial predictions.

I'm seeing car crashes and `splosions and fast-cutting and and sound tracks that threaten trolling o leave you deaf and the kind of heroics McGee never even attempted. In other words another Matt Damon adventure movie off the assembly line with no reverence for the old Gold Medals that spawned it.

Peter Leroy recalls his maternal grandfather’s attempt to build a shortwave radio, a project that begins with an article in Impractical Craftsman magazine promising "hour after interminable hour of baffling precision work." After many, many hours spent watching his grandfather labor at his basement workbench, Peter at last gets to put the earphones on, flip the switch, and twiddle the dials. Through the crackling and sussurous static he detects the sounds of love and lust, joy and sorrow, hope and loss.

“Reading the Peter Leroy saga is akin to watching a champion juggler deftly keep dozens of balls in the air while executing an intricate double-time dance routine—all without breathing hard. . . . Sentimental, loving, raucous, wise, and great fun, this is simply not to be missed.” ~ Booklist

“Eric Kraft’s essential subject is suburban boyhood—in particular, that moment when it loses its innocence. . . . Like Lawrence Sterne, Kraft is unashamedly sentimental, digressive, and extremely funny; like Proust, profoundly nostalgic and obsessed with loss. The typical Kraft novel is a laugh-out-loud read with undertones of grief and ruefulness. Almost all of his books revolve around a single individual, Peter Leroy, who is now . . . as fully realized as any character in current American literature. . . . Under the surface humor, Kraft’s take on the national experience is thoughtful, disturbing, and unlike that of any other American writer.” ~ Anthony Brandt, Men’s Journal

“The Personal History, Adventures, Experiences & Observations of Peter Leroy is one of the biggest, funniest, sweetest, and looniest undertakings in contemporary American fiction.” ~ John Strausbaugh, New York Press

Starting out as a Cotton Club singer in the 1930s, Horne would later go on to superstardom in Hollywood during the 1940s, and put out a string of iconic recordings typified by the timeless Harold Arlen/Ted Koehler composition "Stormy Weather", which became something of a theme song. Her career was hurt by her left-leaning view in the 1950s and her strong support of civil rights in the 1960s, but she remained one of the most popular practitioners of popular song nevertheless.

For years now, the self-appointed guardians of the unearthly powers that remain in this world have fought a running battle, trying to hold back the forces of darkness as personified by Nazi Germany. While the world has slept, a great Occult War has been fought all around us. Now it is over.

We lost.

Only one thing can now prevent that loss from being total, and a thousand years of darkness from descending upon the Earth like a plague. Will even the Red Panda be left standing after The Great Fall?

GOING INTO LIMITED THEATRICAL RELEASE TO CELEBRATE IT’S 50TH ANNIVERSARY, LA LOI (THE LAW), IS A COOL NOIR PIECE NOIR STARRING GINA LOLABRIGIDA, MARCELLO MASTRIANNI, AND MELINA MERCOURI.DEIRECTED BY JULES DASSIN, THIS IS A MUST SEE FOR FANS OF FORIGN NOIR.

Eva Forge is the last paladin of a dead God. Morgan, God of battle and champion of the Fraterdom, was assassinated by his jealous brother, Amon. Over time, the Cult of Morgan has been surpassed by other gods, his blessings ignored in favor of brighter technologies and more mechanical miracles. Eva was the last child dedicated to the Cult of Morgan, forsaken by her parents and forgotten by her family. Now she watches as her new family, her Cult, crumbles all around her.

When a series of kidnappings and murders makes it clear that someone is trying to hasten the death of the Cult of Morgan, Eva must seek out unexpected allies and unwelcome answers in the city of Ash. But will she be able to save the city from a growing conspiracy, one that reaches back to her childhood, even back to the murder of her god?

A zombie plague has devoured every nation on the planet, and the world in chaos. The residents of one New York apartment building have bonded to keep themselves safe from the onslaught, but forced to remain in the safety of the building, the tenants find themselves at each others’ throats.

When they spy a lone teenage girl who walks among the hordes, unmolested by the dead, their world opens up.

"Did you tell her about us? I know what you’re up to with Debra. I’ve been asking around. One word to the old man from me that you’re after their money and you can kiss your sweet little Debra goodbye. Then where will you be? So don’t think you can pat me on the head and make me go away quietly. That won’t happen."

That's Millie talking to Tom. As the well-known quote goes, Hell hath no fury like a woman scorned, and Tom better believe it or he will find himself more than just Fashionably Late.

ABOUT THE AUTHOR

Rekha Ambardar has published over eighty short stories, articles and essays in print and electronic magazines, including The Writer's Journal, ByLine, The Indian Express and Writing World.com. Her mysteries have been published in Futures, Nefarious, The Gumshoe Review, Orchard Mystery Press, Shots in the Dark and other anthologies. Ambardar teaches courses in business at a university in Upper Michigan.

Taking place after the events in Solomon Kane: The Castle of the Devil – but written to stand on its own – this new tale delves deep into the horrors scattered throughout Germany's Black Forest and adapts two of Robert E. Howard's most beloved Solomon Kane pieces.

When Kane comes across gypsies being terrorized by roving bandits, he's not sure what's worse -- the bandits who wish to rob and rape innocent travelers or the evils that spew forth from the forest, intent on killing every man and woman around!

A "Return of the Originals" event! Facts, stats, and pics! Here is all the low down on all of the characters that inspired all of the heroes you know today! Before horn-head, before the crusader with a cape, before the guy who wears a skull on his chest, before the crawler of walls, there was...The Originals! The Spider, The Green Lama, Operator 5, G-8, The Black Bat, The Phantom Detective, Secret Agent X, and many more!By various creators.

Friday, May 14, 2010

The return of the world's first female private eye in fiction and on TV! As tough as Mike Hammer and as sultry as Marilyn Monroe! Topless piano player Mimi Malloy walks into Honey West's office saying there's been a double homicide at her nightclub, the Purple Pussy. Join us as our favorite girl detective goes undercover as a go-go dancer and mixes it up with Hollywood hippies to uncover the "Killer on the Keys."

A "Return of the Originals" event! "The Lady and the Spider." A tale told in widevision! A catastrophe puts The Spider in the arms of lovely Domino Lady. Be here for the first time the Master of Men and the Sexy Avenger ignite the comic pages, as they deal with spontaneous flaming zombies!

No one is safe from the monster city newspapers call The Chaos-Maker, as a bomb destroys the state capitol!Outnumbered and wounded, The Spider must mow down an army before they can get to the President … and disarm the ticking bombs that will blow the city to smithereens … but which Spider is which?

FOR A SHORT TIME KINDLE MYSTERIES IS PLEASED TO FEATURE A MYSTERY TITLE CURRENTLY AVAILABLE IN KINDLE EBOOK FORMAT FOR FREE FROM AMAZON.COM. OFFERS LIKE THIS TYPICALLY DON’T LST LONG, SO DOWNLOAD IT ASAP!

EXECUTIVE PRIVILEGE

When private detective Dana Cutler is hired to follow college student Charlotte Walsh, she never imagines the trail will lead to the White House. But the morning after Walsh's clandestine meeting with Christopher Farrington, President of the United States, the pretty young coed is dead-the latest victim, apparently, of a fiend dubbed "the D.C. Ripper."

A junior associate in an Oregon law firm, Brad Miller is stunned by the death row revelations of convicted serial killer Clarence Little. Though Little accepts responsibility for a string of gruesome murders, he swears he was framed for one of them: the death of a teenaged babysitter who worked for then-governor Farrington.

Suddenly nowhere in America is safe for a small-time private eye and a fledgling lawyer who possess terrifying evidence that suggests the unthinkable: that someone at the very highest level of government, perhaps the president himself, is a cold and brutal killer.

DARCY WISHARD HAS A GREAT Y/A BOOKS GIVEAWAY ON HER LIBRARY LOUNGE LIZARD BLOG TO CELEBRATE HER FIRST BLOGIVERSARY . . .

DARCY SAYS:

I have a whole bunch of books to give away plus a bunch of other fun stuff like bookmarks, stickers and a giftcard! There will be two winners....okay here are the books (which are all ARCs unless otherwise mentioned):

Love and Peaches by Jodi Lynn Anderson

Little Black Lies by Tish Cohen

A Whole Nother Story by Cuthbert Soup

Almost Perfect by Brian Catcher

Rage: A Love Story by Julie Anne Peters

Beautiful by Amy Reed

Wicked: Resurrection by Nancy Holder

Another Faust by Daniel Nayeri, Dina Nayeri

Boys, Girls and Other Hazardous Materials by Rosalind Wiseman

The Summer I got a Life by Mark Fink

Goth Girl Rising by Barry Lyga

Num8ers by Rachel Ward

Riding the Universe by Gaby Triana (Hardcover)

In a Heartbeat by Loretta Ellsworth

How to Ruin Your Boyfriends Reputation by Simone Elkeles (paperback)

My Invented Life by Lauren Bjorkman

Duplikate by Cherry Cheva

Espressologist by Kristina Springer (Hardcover)

Evil? by Timothy Carter (paperback)

Darklight by Lesley Livingston

The Vinyl Princess by Yvonne Prinz

Wicked 2:Legacy and Spellbound by Nancy Holder (Paperback)

Forgive My Fins by Tera Lynn Childs

Exit Strategy by Ryan Potter (Signed Paperback)

Freaks and Revelations by Davida Wills Hurwin

Brightly Woven by Alexandra Bracken

The Body Finder by Kimberly Derting

Gift card will be in the amount of $20 to the bookseller of your choice!

YOU HAVE TO BE A FOLLOWER OF HER BLOG TO JOIN, BUT IF YOU ARE INTERESTED IN Y/A LITERATURE THEN THE LIBRARY LOUNGE LIZARD IS SOMEONE YOU NEED TO KNOW.

The is the first book in The Moorehawke Trilogy from debut novelist Celine Kiernan. The first and second books have been out for over a year in Ireland, Australia (and other countries) and are being published by Orbit in the US and UK in April. Set in alternate 15th Century Europe, the trilogy follows protagonist-cum-narrator Wynter Moorehawke as she and her dying father return home after a 5 year absence up North, eager to join up with her two childhood friends, the two brothers Razi and Allberon, only to find a kingdom in the throes of religious and political turmoil.

The once kind and enlightened King Jonathon has become a tyrant who opened the doors to the Inquisition, subverting the previous order. Now, the Cats who used to communicate with people have been killed and the Ghosts of the Castle have been declared non-existent. Even more distressing is the political instability as Alberon, the official heir to the throne is nowhere to be seen and his half-brother (and bastard son), Razi has been proclaimed the new heir. The story follows Wynter and her father as well as Razi and his best friend Christopher as they are caught up in the middle of transition

In America’s Gulf Coast region, where grounded oil tankers are being broken down for parts, Nailer, a teenage boy, works the light crew, scavenging for copper wiring just to make quota–and hopefully live to see another day. But when, by luck or chance, he discovers an exquisite clipper ship beached during a recent hurricane, Nailer faces the most important decision of his life: Strip the ship for all it’s worth or rescue its lone survivor, a beautiful and wealthy girl who could lead him to a better life. . . .

In this powerful novel, award-winning author Paolo Bacigalupi delivers a thrilling, fast-paced adventure set in a vivid and raw, uncertain future.

Windego: a spirit creature that's lived for centuries in the Great North Woods.This week, we're proud to present a world premiere from author Walt Davis about two men, a vicious winter storm, and story.Starring Tom Bement, Jeffrey Adams and Dave Erwin.

No gunshots herald his approach.No trademark left behind him when he leaves.The Kid had his fill of notoriety in days gone by – as plenty of empty boots can surely testify.Some say he rides alone.That's the Deadeye Kid.

In their first serialized adventure (5 parts long), Lem and Fanshaw accompany a studier of the supernatural to face something they may never have seen before - a ghost ... or at least a ghost that can affect the real world.

Enter the world of film noir, a world of darkness, ambiguity, and moral corruption. Meet the cynical and obsessive heroes of film noir portrayed by actors like Humphrey Bogart, Peter Lorre, James Cageny, Joan Crawford, and Bette Davis. You may encounter a gun-toting gangster, a femme fatale wrapped in fur, a detective with the brim of his hat turned down, or a desperate murderer lurking in the shadows of a doorway. It's a world we all know?the seedy underbelly of the American Dream, and every bit as much a part of our culture.

This wonderfully exhaustive text?tallying more than three hundred thousand words with hundreds of film stills and photos new to the work?distills everything about the movement into one volume from movies to stars to themes and motifs, and brings us up to date with contemporary contributions to the movement. Now completely revised, expanded, and redesigned, this classic pioneering work is the final word on a dark subject.

Detective Isaac Bell, hero of The Chase and The Wrecker, returns in the remarkable new adventure from the #1 New York Times-bestselling author.

It is 1908, and international tensions are mounting as the world plunges toward war. When a brilliant American battleship gun designer dies in a sensational apparent suicide, the man's grief-stricken daughter turns to the legendary Van Dorn Detective Agency to clear her father's name. Van Dorn puts his chief investigator on the case, and Isaac Bell soon realizes that the clues point not to suicide but to murder. And when more suspicious deaths follow, it becomes clear that someone-an elusive spy-is orchestrating the destruction of America's brightest technological minds... and the murders all connect to a top- secret project called Hull 44.

But that is just the beginning. As the intrigue deepens, Bell will find himself pitted against German, Japanese, and British spies, in a mission that encompasses dreadnought battleships, Teddy Roosevelt's Great White Fleet, Chinatown, Hell's Kitchen, and the Brooklyn Navy Yard. Isaac Bell has certainly faced perilous situations before, but this time it is more than the future of his country that's at stake- it's the fate of the world.

Nathan Abercrombie is getting used to his rotten life as a half-dead zombie. The good thing is he doesn’t feel any pain. The bad thing is his body can’t heal, so he has to be really careful not to break anything. But that’s hard to do when his wrestling-obsessed gym teacher, Mr. Lomux, matches him up with Rodney the bully, who’s looking for any excuse to break his bones.

Then one day, Nathan is approached by the secret organization B.U.M.—aka the Bureau of Useful Misadventures—which offers him a cure in exchange for his help. Nathan jumps at the chance to become the world’s first zombie spy, but soon discovers that B.U.M. isn’t quite what it seems. Can Nathan trust them?